Round ’em Up: Wednesday

14052008

Three wins in a row! It’s funny how momentum can change for a team once they return home. Carlos Villanueva upped the quality start streak to four games. Manny Parra looks to continue that tonight. That would mean, of course, that Ned has to let him pitch through the sixth inning. Heaven forbid…

I hope you all like Dan Wiersema’s recap of yesterday’s game against the Dodgers. Dan is now an official contributor to BrewersNation. I had some reservations about opening my site to another blogger, but the time commitment proved too much for me. Dan is a great writer, and I’m excited to have him working on BrewersNation with me. His addition will help keep a constant flow of information and posts heading your way. No more dead-time when I cannot make it to the computer for a couple days. Anyway, let’s take a look at the news for today.

Post of the Day

SI.com follows the young Milwaukee Brewers on their recent road trip. It captures many behind-the-scenes moments that fans normally are unaware of. I did not realize that J.J. Hardy is such a good ping-pong player. I also do not understand why the first picture I see when reading the article has Bob Uecker standing in the background with very short shorts. Questionable choice in photography right there.

In a surprise move by Ned Yost, Eric Gagne returned to the closer’s role last night. It certainly wasn’t pretty, but he got Juan Pierre to pop out to short to end the game. Jim Powell has an interview with Gagne after the game. The relief and happiness in Eric’s voice is evident.

In that same vein, David Pinto from Baseball Musings believes that Eric Gagne must have been tipping his pitches. Nobody has offered any concrete evidence for this, but Yost’s comments do seem to imply that Gagne was doing just that.

Michael Hunt from the Milwaukee JS says that hitting is contagious. I was not aware. I wonder if winning is too… Perhaps not hitting worth a darn is contagious?

Chris Capuano is going to have his second Tommy John surgery. Unfortunately, I do not see Cappy being able to come off of this surgery and be anything other than a situational lefty. His velocity will most likely decrease, and it was not overpowering to begin with. Then again, it would be impressive if Cappy can bounce back at all. Tommy John is not a pleasant surgery. Good luck, Chris!

Speaking of surgery, Yovani Gallardohad a very successful operation Tuesday morning. Here’s to hoping that Milwaukee does not rush Yo back to the mound. He needs to be 100% next season after Ben Sheets has most likely moved on to another team.

The Milwaukee Brewers’ farm system and Brevard County will be getting a very welcome addition tomorrow night. Jeremy Jeffress has served his 50-game suspension for marijuana use and is scheduled to pitch Thursday night for Brevard County. I suspect that Jeremy will be out on that mound with something to prove to everyone. He will have a fantastic season, as he will try to silent all of his critics and doubters. Unfortunately, all that adrenaline will be difficult to harness tomorrow night. He may struggle with his command tomorrow, but Jeremy will have a great season.

The Baseball Analysts examine NL players that are trying to avoid the sophomore jinx. Ryan Braun is the first on the list. He’s been heating up lately at the plate, to the tune of six extra-base hits in the past three games. His walk rate has dropped to 4.9%, which is so bad it’s almost stupid. Plate discipline is something Ryan needs to work on very hard.

In one of the most interesting posts of the day, The Brew Town Beat suggests that the Brewers should offer Tony Gwynn Jr. to San Diego for Greg Maddux. It is a very intriguing idea, as Greg would presumably waive his no-trade clause for Milwaukee to work with his brother, Mike Maddux. With that said, the Brewers pitching staff may be coming around at the right time. Doug Melvin is not one to fix something that isn’t broken. That, and the Brewers would need to ask for more than Maddux for Tony Gwynn Jr. The young center fielder has more value than Maddux because of his upside. As of right now, I would say no to the trade. If Greg is struggling in the best pitcher’s park in the majors, how will he do at Miller Park?

Gabe Grossscored another game winning run last night for the Tampa Bay Rays. Dan pointed out to me that it is very uncommon for a player to get mobbed heroically by two separate teams in a single season. I do not know how often that has happened in the past 10 years or so, but my guess is not many.

Eric Farris, the number one rated second baseman in the minors for Milwaukee, made his debut for West Virginia on Tuesday. He spent time in extended Spring Training rehabbing a tweaked left hamstring. I am extremely interested as to how Eric will perform this season in West Virginia. The Brewers do not have many intriguing internal options at second base. I would not be surprised to see Jack Z draft a second baseman in the first few rounds.

Speaking of the draft, John Sickels touches on some of the best high school hitters that will be available in this years draft.

This is not Brewers related, but The Hardball Times examines what makes a curveball effective. The graphs really help elucidate why a good curveball is almost impossible to hit.

Jim Edmonds is almost certainly going to sign with the Chicago Cubs in the coming days. Cubs fans really, reallydo not like this move. I cannot understand why. His sub-.200 batting average helps the Milwaukee Brewers a lot. I like this move for the Brewers Cubs.

Welcome to BrewersNation!

BrewersNation is a blog that keeps you up-to-date on all the important news concerning the Milwaukee Brewers. It touches on major league news, minor league news, big news concerning other teams in the NL Central. It is your one-stop site for all your Brewers news.
If you have a question or would like anything changed that you see here, e-mail me at jimmyb1799@aol.com.